Malcolm – ‘Renewables will always need 100% backup from power stations’ – rather a misleading claim, given that the variability of the ever increasing amount of electricity from wind power makes the development of mass energy storage ever more pressing.
The Cruachan and Foyers pumped storage stations are just a ‘drop in the ocean’ compared with what’s needed, but I bet there’ll be other ‘green’ techniques developed in the reasonably near future – hydrogen generation seems to be a frequently mooted idea – and your claim surely has less credibility in relation to tidestream and hydro power.

Robert Wakeham also commented

Doc: I’ve been wondering whether Malcolm should be invoiced for the time it takes to educate him about matters that most people seem to be able to comprehend fairly easily, but there seems to be an element of wilful misinformation driven by some fairly strong prejudices. And as – when challenged on these – Malcolm gets a bit shirty I suppose it’s best to leave well alone, and just hope that some of the reasoned argument does eventually sink in.

Malcolm: You need to get out more, but these days the internet affords you the opportunity of finding out for yourself how tunnels have, in other parts of the world, provided an all-weather answer to the Dunoon-Gourock type of problem.

If superconnectors can help even out the supply from intermittent renewable power sources all to the well and good.

Some of us would like to get back to the ‘real and highly important subject’ before you discover General Franco as the answer to practically everything, Malcolm.

I think you’re right Karl – I recollect being told it applied to generators driven by steam turbines in thermal and nuclear stations, where the turbines can’t just be started up instantaneously and you need to have some of the off-load ones ‘ticking over’ to cover the sudden loss of a generator, or the end of some hugely popular tv soap when everyone puts the kettle on. I think that’s one reason why the Cruachan pumped storage scheme was built, to provide much faster response power supply

ForArgyll on PauseIt’s Buckfast, not buck fast – and is named after a Benedictine abbey (also known locally in South Devon as ‘Fast Buck Abbey’).

New Transport Minister humiliates CalMac MDIf a second ship was added to the Craignure route because the Isle of Mull couldn’t cope with the traffic, it’ll be interesting to see what happens when she’s on her own again.

ForArgyll on PauseSalem? Really? – Would that be Salem near Llandeilo or Salem near Aberystwyth? – are you sure they’re not moving on to Mull just to get away from you?

With Heb Isles in for repairs, CalMac charters replacement vessel to reduce underprovision for IslayFor Nigel MacLeod: given the current ‘pause’ in this website’s customary wide coverage, the way in which the discussion under this particular topic has spread to cover all things Calmac is surely not in the slightest bit surprising – and if particular issues arise concerning Islay service provision I’m sure that people will be keen to add their comments.
For myself, I’d be really interested to hear the reasons for the recent ‘crash landing’ at Lochmaddy, and to see whether lessons can be learnt, given that there was what appears to have been a similar incident at Kennacraig not that long ago and it’s surely reasonable to assume that lessons were learnt then.